Micro connector to facilitate testing of micro electronic component and subassemblies

ABSTRACT

The subject invention is a testing apparatus which includes a contact connector comprised of a housing with contact blades extending from the housing. The contact blades are pivotally mounted to the housing by pivot rods. A biasing element is coupled to the contact blades, providing resistance against rotary movement of the contact blade in one direction.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

[0001] This application claims priority from U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 60/308,514 entitled “Micro Connector to FacilitateTesting of Micro Electronic Components and Subassemblies,” filed on Jul.27,2001 the contents of which are hereby incorporated in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] This invention relates generally to a testing apparatus forcontact connectors. More particularly, the invention relates to atesting apparatus which can mate with a connector of a device under testwithout damaging the connector.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] Contact connectors such as the one shown in FIG. 1 are wellknown. These connectors are typically used to removably connect circuitsto each other. As shown in FIG. 2, connectors are commonly used inconjunction with a flex cable 20 to connect circuits located on circuitboards or peripheral devices to each other.

[0004]FIG. 1 shows a typical female-type embodiment of a connector, thisembodiment is comprised of a contact 10 and a housing 11, with thecontact having a leg 12 which extends from the housing and a contactsurface 13. The female type connectors will typically mate with amale-type connector like the one shown in FIG. 3. The male-typeconnector also has a housing 30, a contact 32, and a leg 34. The contact32 also has a contact surface 36. The male-type connector is configuredso that when the housing for the male-type connector mates with thehousing for the female type connector, the contacts of one connectortouches that of the other.

[0005] During normal use electrical contact between the female contactconnector and the male contact connector are typically quite reliablebecause the two remain statically mated. In this condition, the contact10 is displaced by the contact 32 and the resiliency of the contact 10resists this displacement. As a result, contact pressure is createdbetween the contact 10 and the contact 30 which forces good contactbetween the two.

[0006] However, repeated insertion and removal of a male contactconnector reduces the resiliency of the contact 10. After repeatedinsertions and removals, the contact 10 no longer resists displacementand simply deforms. A deformed contact 10 will typically causeinsufficient contact pressure between the contact 10 and the contact 30,and as a result, there is inconsistent continuity between the circuitsbeing connected.

[0007] This problem can occur during testing of circuits or flex cables.Testing often requires repeated insertion and removal of a male contactconnector into the female-type connector. As stated above this repeatedinsertion and removal may damage the female-type connector. In order toavoid this damage, a male-type connector is needed which would applyminimal pressure to the contact 10 so that the contact is not displaced.Yet, there must be sufficient contact pressure between the contact 10and a male contact to provide good contact between the two.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] Accordingly, the subject invention is a testing apparatus with anovel connector which provides repeatable, reliable electrical contactwhen mated to an opposite connector, without deforming the contacts ofthe opposite connector. In one embodiment, the subject connector isconfigured as a male-type contact connector especially adapted to matewith a common female-type contact connector. The connector includes ahousing with contact blades extending from the housing. The contactblades are pivotally mounted to the housing by pivot rods, and a biasingelement is coupled to the contact blades providing resistance againstrotary movement of the contact blade in one direction.

[0009] Due to the angle of the contact surface 49 and the rotarymovement of the contact blades, a contact blade on a female-typeconnector is not displaced by the insertion of the male-type contactconnector. The contact blades on the male-type connector rotate toaccommodate the presence of a contact from a female-type connector whilethe biasing elements provides sufficient resistance to this rotarymovement to allow good contact pressure. As a result, even with repeatedinsertion and removal of the male type connector, the female-typeconnector experiences little deformation and retains its ability tomaintain good contact.

[0010] In one embodiment, the testing apparatus is comprised of a basewith the male-type contact connector mounted onto the base. Themale-type connector is generally adapted to mate with a connector on thespecific device under test. The base carries additional circuitry whichis in communication with the contact blades on the male-type connector,enabling the testing apparatus to communicate with the device undertest.

[0011] While multiple embodiments are disclosed, still other embodimentsof the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in theart from the following detailed description. As will be apparent, theinvention is capable of modifications in various obvious aspects, allwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.Accordingly, the drawings and detailed description are to be regarded asillustrative in nature and not restrictive.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of theinvention, there is illustrated the accompanying drawings, from aninspection of which, when considered in connection with the followingdescription, the invention, its construction and operation, and many ofits advantages should be readily understood and appreciated.

[0013]FIG. 1, (prior art) a cross-sectional view of a female-typecontact connector.

[0014]FIG. 2, (prior art) a perspective view of a flex cableconductively coupled to the female-type contact connector of FIG. 1.

[0015]FIG. 3, (prior art) a cross-sectional view of a male-type contactconnector.

[0016]FIG. 4, a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a testingapparatus in accordance with the subject invention.

[0017]FIG. 4a perspective view of one embodiment of a pivot rod.

[0018]FIG. 5, a reduced, overhead, planar view of the testing apparatusof FIG. 4.

[0019]FIG. 6, a cross-sectional view of the testing apparatus of FIG. 4conductively coupled to a female-type contact connector.

[0020]FIG. 7, an expanded view of FIG. 6 showing the testing apparatusof FIG. 4 conductively coupled to a female-type contact connector.

[0021]FIG. 8, a top perspective view of a testing apparatus inaccordance with the subject invention.

[0022]FIG. 9, a side perspective view of the testing apparatus of FIG.8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0023] The subject invention is a testing apparatus with a novelconnector which provides repeatable, reliable, electrical contact whenmated to an opposite connector, without deforming the contacts of theopposite connector. As shown in FIG. 4, in one embodiment, the subjectconnector is configured as a male-type contact connector especiallyadapted to mate with a common female-type contact connector. However,one skilled in the art can readily appreciate that the subject inventioncan be easily modified to accommodate a number of different types ofcontact connectors.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 4, in one embodiment, the testing apparatus 40includes a male-type contact connector 41 comprised of a housing 42 withcontact blades 43 extending from the housing. The contact blades 43 arepivotally mounted to the housing 42 by pivot rods 44. A biasing element57 is coupled to the contact blades 43, providing resistance againstrotary movement of the contact blade in one direction.

[0025] In one embodiment, each contact blade 43 includes a contactportion 46, a central portion 56, and a base portion 47. An aperture 53extends through the central portion of the contact blade, the aperturebeing sized to allow a pivot rod 44 to be disposed therein. The contactportion 46 also defines an angled contact surface 49 which extends fromthe housing 42.

[0026] In one embodiment, the thickness of the contact blade 43 isdesigned to be less than the contact width of a contact blade on afemale connector to be mated with. Typically, the contact blades 43 arefabricated from about 0.13 mm feeler gauge sheet stock and electrolessNickel plated to a final thickness of about 0.14 mm. However, as oneskilled in the art would readily appreciate, the width and tolerance ofthe contact blade is readily adaptable to conform to the size andspacing of a contact blade on a connector.

[0027] In one embodiment, a pair of pivot rods 44 (as shown in FIG. 4a),preferably a Zirconia tube reinforced with a steel wire 44 a, extendlaterally along the housing 42 of the male-type contact connector 41.The pivot rods are generally parallel to each other, and they rotativelysupport a plurality of contact blades 43. The pivot rods 44 extendthrough an aperture 53 located on each contact blade 43, with eachcontact blade 43 rotating about the central axis of the pivot rod 44.

[0028] In one embodiment, the biasing element 57 is disposed within thehousing and is coupled to the base portion 47 of each contact blade 43.In the disclosed embodiment, the biasing element serves a dual purpose.First, it provides an electrical connection from each contact blade toan output pin 54. Second, it provides resistance, in one direction,against the rotary movement of the contact blade 43 about the pivot rods44. The direction of the bias provided is easily changed to accommodatea particular application.

[0029] The biasing element 57 provides a known, repeatable, resistanceto the rotary movement of the contact blade. In one embodiment, thebiasing element is a flexible pin 45, preferably a pogo pin. However, itcan be readily appreciated that a number of known components can beeasily substituted for the flexible pin. A spring or any other resilientbody can easily be accommodated to perform the same function as theflexible pin 45.

[0030] In one embodiment, the flexible pins 45 are disposed withinnon-conductive “U” shaped blocks 55 mounted within the housing. TheseU-shaped blocks 55 are preferably fabricated from G-11 fiber glass epoxystock. Due to their size (diameter) these flexible pins 45 can bemounted in staggered tiers so that there is space available within thehousing to accommodate a plurality of the pins.

[0031] In one embodiment, a stop 48 extends laterally within thehousing, disposed between the contact blades 43. The stop 48 preventsrotational movement of the contact blade 43 in one direction, andmaintains the orientation of the contact blade and spacer. The stop isfabricated from a non-conductive material such as G-11 fiberglass epoxystock.

[0032] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, in one embodiment, the subjectinvention includes two parallel rows of contact blades 43 extendinglaterally across the housing 42. Each contact blade 43 is separated froma neighboring contact blade 43 in the same row by a generallynon-conductive spacer 50. The spacer 50 extends between the pivot rods44 and it has a pair of apertures 58 which enables each pivot rod 44 toextend therethrough. Each spacer 50 is preferably fabricated from about0.25 mm plastic shim stock and are designed to fill most of the spacesurrounding each contact blade 43. For improved control of contact bladespacing and tolerance, spacers would preferably be fabricated from aceramic or similar material that can be lapped to a close tolerance.

[0033] In operation and as shown in the embodiments of FIGS. 6 and 7,the contact blades 43 are inserted into a female-type contact connector52. The contact portion 46 protrudes above the spacers 50 enabling it tocontact a female contact blade 51 of a female-type connector 52 beingtested. The contact portion 46 protrudes roughly about 0.75 mm above thespacers 50. The contact surface 49 contacts an upper portion 70 of thefemale contact blade 51. Although the present invention has beendescribed with reference to preferred embodiments, persons skilled inthe art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detailwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

[0034] Upon insertion into the female-type connector, the contact blades43 are displaced, rotating about the pivot rod 44. The flexible pin 45provides a sufficient amount of resistance to the rotation so that thereis sufficient contact pressure between the contact blade 43 and thefemale contact blade 51. Due to the angle of the contact surface 49 andthe rotary movement of the contact blades 43. The female contact 51 isnot displaced by the insertion of the male-type contact connector 41.Since there is little to no displacement of the female contact 51, thefemale contact does not deform, even after repeated insertion andremoval of the male-type connector.

[0035] As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, in one embodiment, the testingapparatus comprises the male-type contact connector 41 and a base 59.The base 59 may include additional circuitry therein to communicate withthe output pins 54 of the male-type connector 41, or the base mayfunction solely as a support to the male-type connector 41. The testingapparatus can include additional components which utilize the male-typeconnector 41 to communicate with the device under test.

[0036] The testing apparatus can be applied manually to a device undertest, or it can be actuated onto a device under testing. Alternatively,the device under testing can be actuated onto the testing apparatus. Theactuator can be one that is known in the art.

[0037] While the subject invention has been described with reference toseveral embodiments thereof, those skilled in the art will recognizevarious changes that may be made without departing from the spirit andscope of the claimed invention. Accordingly, this invention is notlimited to what is shown in the drawings and described in thespecification. Any numbering or ordering of elements in the followingclaims is merely for convenience and is not intended to suggest that theordering of the elements of the claims has any particular significance.

We claim:
 1. A connector comprising a housing, a contact blade pivotallydisposed within the housing, and a biasing element coupled to thecontact blade and opposing pivotal movement of the contact blade in onedirection.
 2. The connector of claim 1 and further comprising a rodcoupled to the contact blade, the rod rotatably coupled to the housing.3. The connector of claim 2 wherein the rod extends through the contactblade
 4. The connector of claim 1, wherein the biasing element is aflexible pin.
 5. The connector of claim 4, and further comprising anoutput pin conductively coupled to the contact blade flexible pin. 6.The connector of claim 1, wherein the biasing element is a spring. 7.The connector of claim 1, wherein the contact blade is comprised of acontact portion, a central portion, and a base portion, and wherein thecontact portion includes an angled contact surface and the controlportion has an aperture extending therethrough.
 8. The connector ofclaim 7, and further comprising a non-conductive spacer, and wherein therod extends through the spacer.
 9. A method of manufacturing a connectorcomprising coupling a contact blade to a rod, rotatably mounting the rodto a housing, and coupling a biasing element to the contact blade. 10.The method of claim 9, wherein the step of coupling the contact bladesto a rod includes extending the rod through the blade.
 11. The method ofclaim 9, wherein the blade is comprised of a contact section, a middlesection and a base section, and wherein a flexible pin is coupled to thebase section of the blade.
 12. The method of claim 9, and furthercomprising extending a first rod through a first set of blades andextending a second rod through a second set of blades, and aligning thefirst and second set of blades generally parallel to each other.
 13. Themethod of claim 12, wherein the biasing means are coupled to the contactblades so that the first set of blades are biased to in one directionand the second set of blades are biased in an opposite direction.
 14. Atesting apparatus comprising a base, a housing mounted to the base, afirst set and a second set of contact blades, each blade pivotallyconnected to the housing, and biasing elements coupled to the first andsecond set of contact blades, the biasing elements biasing the first setof blades in one direction and the second set of blades in an oppositedirection.
 15. The testing apparatus of claim 14, and further comprisinga pair of rods rotatively disposed within the housing, the rods beingpositioned parallel to each other with each coupled to a set of contactblades.
 16. The testing apparatus of claim 15, wherein each contactblade has an aperture therethrough sized to allow the disposal of therod therein, and wherein each rod extends through a set of blades. 17.The testing apparatus of claim 16, wherein a flexible pin is coupled toeach contact blade.
 18. The testing apparatus of claim 14, wherein thebiasing means is a pogo pin.
 19. The testing apparatus of claim 17, andfurther comprising an output pin, and wherein the pogo pin conductivelycouples the output pin to the contact blade.
 20. The testing apparatusof claim 19, wherein the contact blade has an angled contact surface.